Lady Ambryn of Dannulf was sold into marriage twice to further her father’s ambitions. Twice a widow, a new marriage is arranged with the heir to the House of York. Too late she realizes this desperate alliance is doomed as the Great Heathen Army batters down the doors to her wedding feast.
Rowan the Bold was as confident in battle as he was in a woman’s bedchamber. The charming mercenary Viking no woman had yet to deny was sure he could get the beautiful English lady to tell him her identity. After going unpaid for the battle for York, he is determined to recoup his loss by gaining her ransom.
Rowan is unprepared with his beautiful captive’s determination to not be sent back to her family, never realizing how far the lady is willing to go. After a night of passion when all is thought lost, he swears to keep her safe. It is an oath he has never given to any other woman before.
Ambryn is determined her Viking captor will forsake his ransom and keep her with him. She is unaware of the oath Rowan has already made to his men. This would be their last battle, the promise of a fortune in gold already made.
Her heart is his for the taking, but the mercenary in Rowan will have none of it, pushing her away, tormented by a violent past and an uncertain future that doesn’t include any woman by his side. Heartbroken by his rejection, Ambryn loses all hope when the ransom finally arrives.
From blood-splattered vanquished halls to Viking encampments, Ambryn blindly follows Rowan into unknown peril. From sleeping on the floors of rotting monasteries to being forced to serve in a Viking stronghold, she must trust he will keep his promise to her before any other.
Sworn by duty to a deposed embittered queen, Rowan must now choose between his destiny and the woman he has sworn to protect before any other.
